Date A Live: Episode 1

Just like I said I would, I’ve begun my rewatch of Date A Live!
And just like Haruhi, I’m happy to report that I’ve forgotten many details of the anime, making this almost like my first time through!

Maybe I should just perpetually rewatch anime from here on out?
At this rate, it’ll last me a lifetime. The perks of a bad memory.
One Piece episode 1, here we come? (Definitely not!).

Anyways, here we go.

Date A Live – Little Sister Edition

Not So Brief Synopsis

We learn that there is a phenomenon called “spatial quakes” that appear and destroy everything in their wake. Apparently the Mongolian / Chinese border was hit with one of these bad boys.

Our protagonist, Itsuka Shido, is woken up by his little sister – Itsuka Kotori. We find out that spatial quake activity is on the rise (I wonder what that could mean?). They agree to meet at a diner for lunch, and then Shido goes to school. Then at lunchtime, much to my surprise, a spatial quake happens to strike the city Shido is living in! Worried that his sister still went to the diner, he runs out to save her. A spatial quake strikes right in front of him, just barely killing him, and then he sees a purple haired girl with a sword standing in the middle of the newly formed crater.

The purple haired girl fights a white haired girl who happens to be one of Shido’s classmates, Tobiichi Origami. Shido passes out and wakes up in a high tech facility, where we learn that his sister Kotori runs an operation aimed at stopping spirits like the purple haired girl from causing destruction via spatial quakes. Shido then gets recruited into a new plan to get the purple haired spirit to fall in love with him.

Forgotten Moments

Spatial Quakes

I could have just said “everything”, but I do remember a thing or two from Date A Live. That said, the main premise of rogue spirits causing spatial quakes is something I had forgotten. I remembered that there were rogue spirits, but I forgot that they were sort of a danger to humanity like this, causing small atomic-esque explosions all over the place.

Kyohei Kannazuki

I managed to remember almost all of the characters from this episode, except for Kyohei, the vice commander of the whole anti spirit operation. That said, I quickly remembered that this guy is the embodiment of the masochist trope after the first time he was struck by Kotori. Not my favourite character type, but I can live with it at least.

Favourite Moments

First Aid

After Shido passes out during the battle between the spirit and the anti-spirit team, he wakes up to Murasame Reine, the head analyst for the anti spirit organization. Shido is confused as to what happened, and Reine’s attempt to calm him down is to say:

“Relax. I’m not certified, but I can perform simple first aid.”
– Reine

I just thought it was funny that it turns out she isn’t even a doctor.
Not very reassuring!

Let Me Introduce You

At school before class, Shido is sitting at his desk talking to his friend Tonomachi Hiroto. Tonomachi gets a notification on his phone, and proceeds to check while apologizing saying that it’s his girlfriend. He then introduces Shido to his girlfriend, which turns out to be a girl from a dating sim on his phone. Tonomachi responds to Shido’s criticism by saying:

“She’s still my girlfriend! Don’t be prejudiced!”
– Tonomachi

Just another line that I thought was funny from the episode.

Other Thoughts

I know it’s the first episode, so maybe they went put a little more into the animation, but I thought that the fight between Origami and Tohka (the spirit) was awesome. I feel like there are many fight scenes in anime that look poorly done, where detail goes out the window and you know they are just banking on no one noticing because the characters are moving so fast. I was happy to see a great fight sequence with some good detail.

In Conclusion…

I enjoyed this first episode of Date A Live, and I’m looking forward to Shido’s interactions with Tohka in the next episode! Something tells me that there are many spirits aside from Tohka that I’ve forgotten, so I’m also excited to be reminded of them in future episodes.

Until next time!
Thanks for reading.

---

Other Date A Live Posts

• Ep1 – Little Sister Edition
• Ep2 – Sunset Tohka Edition
• Ep3 – Sunset Sniper Edition
• Ep4 – Cat Pen & Lollipop Edition
• Ep5 – Sad Edition
• Ep6 – Too Cute Edition
• Ep7 – “Tick Tock, Eye Clock” Edition
• Ep8 – Fun in the Park Edition
• Ep9 – Cloudy Skies Edition
• Ep10 – 1 O’Clock Edition
• Ep11 – Group Date Edition
• Ep12 – Fiery Temper Edition
• Season 1 Review